Do you run any guided heritage walks or talks?
Winter Heritage Talks
Our Guides are offering some fascinating talks at the Town Hall (see address at the bottom of the page) on the second Tuesday in January, February and March and then in October, November and December. Lasting for approximately one hour, the talks will include a cup of tea or coffee plus the chance to ask questions at the end.
2025
Great Yarmouth Witch Trials on Tuesday 14 January, 1pm. (FULLY BOOKED)
Yare Beat - The Greatest Hits on Tuesday 11 February, 1pm. (FULLY BOOKED)
Great Women from Great Yarmouth on Tuesday 11 March, 1pm. (FULLY BOOKED)
Pablo Fanque and the Victorian Circus on Tuesday 14 October, 1pm.
Great Yarmouth Witch Trials on Wednesday 31 October, 1pm. (Limited spaces)
Behind the Screens - Amphibious Tanks of Fritton Lake and D-Day on Tuesday 11 November, 1pm.
Ghost Stories of Great Yarmouth on Tuesday 9 December, 1pm.
Talk Prices
Adults £5.50
Booking is essential to join us on a heritage talk. Please register online (opens new window) for your chosen talk. Note - you'll need to register your interest in a talk before a payment link is sent to you. Your place on the talk is confirmed once payment is received.
Guided Heritage Walks
Our team of dedicated heritage guides run a large number of walks usually from Easter to October.
Delve into the history that surrounds Great Yarmouth on one of our fantastic guided heritage walks. Explore the rich history of this ancient seaside resort, fishing port and market town with our official team of Guides.
The borough of Great Yarmouth has some fantastic history and architecture to admire, and some colourful stories of past local residents and visitors to go with it. An exciting range of walks, written and designed by some of our heritage guides will take you off the beaten track and out into the local area to discover more about what went before in Great Yarmouth.
Usually starting from April until the end of October, Guided Heritage Walks, led by an official Great Yarmouth heritage guide, are one of the most interesting ways of discovering more about the area.
Family Walks
Adults £4
Children £4
Yucky Yarns
Children must be accompanied by an adult (Recommended age 6-11)
Starting point: Front Gates of Great Yarmouth Minster (NR30 1NE)
Approximately. 60 minutes
Join Jemima or Jeremy Black, the custodian of the big book of Yarmouth Yucky Yarns on a guided walk to learn about horrendous history in Great Yarmouth.
We'll talk about gory stories and ghastly goings on with pirates, graveyard tricks and secret chests!
Activity book included, bring a pen/pencil.
- Wednesday 9 April, 10.30am
- Thursday 29 May, 10.30am
- Sunday 6 July, 2pm
- Wednesday 13 August, 5.30pm
- Sunday 24 August, 2pm
Seaside Adventure into the Past Family Walk
Children must be accompanied by an adult (Recommended age 8+)
Starting point: Front of Carlton Hotel, Marine Parade (NR30 3JE)
Approximately. 60 minutes
To join us on our new family friendly walk, you'll need to download an app called 'Actionbound' - we'll send you instructions once you've booked. Listen to the Guide and using the app, have fun whilst learning about some of Great Yarmouth's fascinating past. A fun and family friendly wander around points of interest on Great Yarmouth seafront. Listen to voices from the past and watch short videos to help you answer questions as we go. At the end of the walk, see how you scored and complete the walk with a visit to Merrivale's Old Penny Arcade.
- Sunday 27 April, 10am
- Wednesday 28 May, 10am
- Sunday 20 July, 10am
- Sunday 10 August, 10am
- Sunday 26 October, 10am
Walks
Adults £5.50
Children £3 (aged 7 - 17)
Children Under 7 Free
Quayside and Seaside at Gorleston-on-Sea
Starting point: Welcome to Gorleston sign on Gorleston Promenade near The Pier Hotel (NR31 6PL)
Approximately. 90 minutes / 2 hours including Theatre visit
Gorleston-on-Sea has a fascinating heritage, often overlooked by its sister town, Great Yarmouth. Located south of Great Yarmouth, at the mouth of the River Yare, this walk takes in the beautiful promenade, the pier and the river. Walkers can also take a look inside the fabulous Edwardian Pavilion Theatre after the walk.
- Wednesday 2 April, 11am
- Wednesday 21 May, 11am
- Wednesday 25 June, 11am
- Wednesday 30 July, 11am
- Wednesday 27 August, 11am
- Wednesday 10 September, 11am
- Wednesday 29 October, 11am
Medieval Town Wall
Starting point: Front Gates of Great Yarmouth Minster (NR30 1NE)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Great Yarmouth has the second most complete town wall in the UK! Isolated on the east coast, fear of pirates and invasion gave the people of Great Yarmouth a distinct last frontier mentality. Once King John granted the town its Charter, a wall was the answer.
Come along to discover why and how it was built, how it was reinforced in times of rebellion and civil war, and whilst never coming under serious attack, how it defined the development of the town.
- Wednesday 4 June, 10.30am
- Thursday 3 July, 6pm
- Sunday 7 September, 2pm
- Wednesday 15 October, 10.30am
Gravestones and Tombstones of Great Yarmouth Minster
Starting point: Front Gates of Great Yarmouth Minster (NR30 1NE)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Join us at Great Yarmouth Minster, one of England's largest parish churches for some fascinating stories about the characters laid to rest next to the Medieval Town Wall.
Discover the bricked up gate through which some of Nelson's sailors set sail for the final time and visit the town cemetery where sailors, merchants and circus owners lie side by side.
- Sunday 8 June, 2pm
- Wednesday 9 July, 10.30am
- Sunday 27 July, 2pm
- Wednesday 6 August, 10.30am
- Sunday 5 October, 2pm
- Sunday 19 October, 2pm
Rows, Fishwives and Red Herrings
Starting point: Fishermen's Hospital (NR30 1PB)
Approximately. 90 minutes / 2 hours including Lydia Eva visit
Great Yarmouth Rows are quite unique and are full of strange and sometimes macabre tales. Hear about the wealthy merchants that lived at one end and of the bars and brothels that had their place at the other!
Taking in the historic South Quay, learn about how the herring industry was important for the town. See where the fisher girls sang, knitted and worked their passage home.
Some narrow areas included on this walks.
Take a tour of the Lydia Eva after the walk - the last steam drifter. Lydia Eva can also be spotted in the 2023 hit move, Wonka.
- Wednesday 16 April, 10.30am
- Sunday 11 May, 2pm
- Thursday 12 June, 10.30am
- Wednesday 2 July, 2pm
- Sunday 3 August, 6pm
- Sunday 31 August, 2pm
- Wednesday 1 October, 10.30am
- Wednesday 22 October, 10.30am0
Forgotten Inns and Taverns of Great Yarmouth
Starting point: Stone Sofa Statue, Row 111 (Middlegate Car Park, NR30 2RG)
Approximately. 90 minutes
In 1908 there were 295 licensed properties in Great Yarmouth, now there are less than 45! Discover the story of a landlady who was hanged because she would not reveal a true murderer, the tavern run by a Pilgrim Father, the inn where Dutch officers were kept as prisoners-of-war, or where you would stay on holiday if you were teetotal.
Every adult attending this walk will receive a voucher to be used online for Lacons Brewery.
- Sunday 20 April, 10.30am
- Wednesday 14 May, 10.30am
- Thursday 5 June, 10.30am
- Thursday 19 June, 10.30am
- Sunday 13 July, 2pm
- Sunday 12 October, 10.30am
Tales of the Old Cemetery
Starting point: Front Gates of Gorleston Cemetery (NR31 7BN)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Gorleston has had many interesting residents over the centuries. Learn about heroes, clowns and a pioneering woman all within the surroundings of a quaint Victorian cemetery.
- Wednesday 23 April, 10.30am
- Sunday 18 May, 2pm
- Wednesday 11 June, 10.30am
- Wednesday 16 July, 10.30am
- Wednesday 8 October, 10.30am
Roll Up! Roll Up! Seafront Stars of Entertainment
Starting point: Front of Britannia Pier (NR30 2EH)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Starting at Britannia Pier, with its theatre that has played host to everyone from Paul Daniels to The who, and finishing at the Wellington Pier where the likes of Tommy Cooper and Morecambe and Wise graced the stage.
- Sunday 15 June, 2pm
- Wednesday 23 July, 10.30am
- Wednesday 20 August, 10.30am
- Wednesday 24 September, 10.30am
Building Great Yarmouth Seafront
Starting point: Front of Wellington Pier (NR30 3JF)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Learn about some of the significant buildings along Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth, alos known as Great Yarmouth's Golden Mile. See how they have contributed to the town's holiday industry - and not all are as they seem. Piers, hotels and places of entertainment are all here showing the fascinating evolution of a seaside town.
- Sunday 29 June, 6pm
- Thursday 17 July, 10.30am
- Sunday 17 August, 6pm
- Wednesday 3 September, 10.30am
2,000 Years of Caister-on-Sea
Starting point: Caister Roman Fort (NR30 5RN)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Discover how Caister-on-Sea became a heroic lifeboat community from Roman beginnings and how the phrase, 'Caister men never turn back' came to be.
- Sunday 1 June, 2pm
- Sunday 28 September, 2pm
VE Day Special
Starting point: War Memorial in St George's Park (NR30 2JN)
Approximately. 90 minutes
A special commemorative walk to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. This walk will conclude with a minutes silence to remember those lost in battle.
- Wednesday 7 May, 10.30am
The Finest Quay
Starting point: Stone Sofa Statue, Row 111 (Middlegate car park NR30 2RG)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Learn about Great Yarmouth's Historic South Quay, described several times by Daniel Defoe as 'The Finest Quay in England if not in Europe'.
- Wednesday 30 April, 10.30am
- Sunday 25 May, 10.30am
- Thursday 14 August, 6pm
Gory Stories on a Wicked Walk
Starting point: Front Gates of Great Yarmouth Minster (NR30 1NE)
Approximately. 90 minutes
Suitable for children aged 12 and over
From the strange and curious to the dark and murderous, Great Yarmouth is home to many gruesome and macabre tales. Learn about murders committed in the Rows and see where trials were held by the Witchfinder General. Hear how the market place was used for grim entertainments, whippings and savage punishments. A wealth of terrible tales will make this a walk to remember.
- Thursday 26 June, 6pm
- Thursday 10 July, 6pm
- Thursday 24 July, 6pm
- Thursday 31 July, 6pm
- Thursday 7 August, 6pm
- Thursday 21 August, 6pm
- Thursday 28 August, 6pm
- Thursday 30 October, 6pm
Booking is essential to join us on a guided heritage walk. Please register online for your chosen walk. Note - you'll need to register your interest in a walk before a payment link is sent to you. Your place on the walk is confirmed once payment is received.
Groups, Clubs and Educational Groups
Private Walks and Talks
Private walks for groups, clubs or coach tours can be booked for a minimum of 8 people on any day of the week at any time of the year and are eligible for a special group rate.
We're keen to inspire young minds to be passionate about the history of our town in a fun and engaging way. Contact us to see how we can bring your school history lessons to life!
If your group or club would prefer our Guides to come to you, we are also able to offer talks where you can learn about the history of Great Yarmouth from the comfort of your own setting.
For more details:
- email us on marketing@great-yarmouth.gov.uk (opens new window)
- phone us on 01493 846107 (opens new window)
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